If you seek satisfying career opportunities for music performance or education and you want to perfect your own technique as a clarinet musician this degree is for you.

The clarinet program offers a broad spectrum of training in solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, and in such technical areas as reed making. Students participate in private lessons and weekly clarinet seminars and receive coaching in various pedagogical techniques.

Who is the clarinet player?

A clarinet player is a musician who specializes in playing the clarinet professionally. As with most other players of orchestral instruments, clarinet players are usually part of a large orchestra, performing in synchronization with other players and the orchestra as a whole. Clarinets are also utilized for various non-orchestral purposes, such as jazz music and even rock, and thus clarinet players are usually able to find work in a wide variety of areas of the music industry. It’s not uncommon for clarinet players to become the centerfold in their band, attracting more attention than the other members. Some bands are comprised entirely of clarinet players and those are becoming more and more popular.

Description of the program

The program is designed to develop advanced competencies and musicianship for the qualified student including advanced and refined technique, enhanced musical knowledge and skills, and increased ability to communicate artistically so as to demonstrate professional capability in the chosen area of concentration. Through their studies, students gain increased knowledge and skills in one or more fields of music outside the major such as music theory, history, musicology, or performance practice. Students also gain increased knowledge of repertory and historical performance practice.

Serious emphasis is placed on ensemble work in a wide variety of formations, with an equally intense focus on solo work. Students are given the opportunity to participate in a public concert evening each semester. Orchestral positions are taught and regular auditions are organized for orchestral training.

The skills after a degree

• to the standards of a four-year undergraduate program, exhibit technical and musical proficiency in solo performance, composition, or music historical research.

• possess intermediate analytical proficiency in music theory, as well as knowledge of how that proficiency affects musical performance.

• obtain a fundamental knowledge of the connection between musical performance and musical history.

• through a combination of practice, coaching, and rehearsal in both large and small ensembles, the student's major area of study will develop superior technical collaborative skills.

Opportunities for Clarinet

Ensemble experience is an essential component of professional training; starting in the first semester, each student is assigned to and rotated through the major ensembles, one person per part. Clarinet students may pursue solo performances through the annual Concerto Competition and can play in at least six of the more than two dozen performance ensembles on campus.

Job and payment

The payment of a clarinet player is affected primarily by their place of occupation, for example, clarinet players who’re part of established orchestras can generally earn a good annual income, which is additionally stable; on the other hand, members of uprising bands have to depend on the luck and success that the band will see in its first few years/months, and even though there are great potentials for earning that way, it’s also very risky. Orchestra clarinet players earn between $25,000 — $35,000 annually, while band members can earn up to $60,000 — $70,000 and more if the band becomes successful.